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Cultural references
In the ''Baldur's Gate'' series, there are numerous references to books, other video games, movies, plays, television shows, music and more subjects of pop culture or history, inserted by the developers. This page tries to list them all. ''Battlestar Galactica'' *Jaheira's comment "By your command." – spoken in a monotonous, robotic manner – is very similar to the way the Cylons in the original Battlestar Galactica series would acknowledge an order given to them. ''Bhagavad Gita'' *Xzar's "I am become death, destroyer of worlds!" is a reference to a line from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu holy scripture. It has gained much fame when Oppenheimer, one of the 'fathers of the atomic bomb', cited it after the nuclear test Trinity. Edgar Allan Poe *Poe, a 'poet' on the Firewine Bridge, is a reference to the 19th century poet and author Edgar Allan Poe. Faust *The quest Rescue Marlowe's Daughter is a reference to the legend of Faust, which is about a man who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge. Marlowe and Vongoethe refer to Christopher Marlowe and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, both of whom wrote their own versions of the legend. Galileo Galilei *Near Beregost's temple, an astrologer by the name of Galileus can be met. Both his dialogue and name are references to the Italian astronomer Galileo of the Renaissance period. "Get Together" *Alora's line "C'mon, people, now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together; try to love one another right now." are lyrics from the song "Get Together" by The Youngbloods. Goody-two-shoes *Cespenar comments, when presented with the Paladin's Bracers, "I think I sees bracers of goody-two-shoesness!"BOTSMITH.dlg; State 120 – Cespenar: "*sings* Hmm. I think I sees bracers of goody-two-shoesness!", referring to the phrase "goody-two-shoes", or "goody two shoes", which is based on "The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes" and used for excessively virtuous persons – as in paladins. ''How to Win Friends and Influence People'' *In The Black Pits, the 'Tier 1' battle How to Raise the Dead and Influence People is a reference to the 1936 self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People. ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' *Near the ruined temple of Amaunator, north of the Umar Hills, is a room with letters of the alphabet on the floor. To gain access to the rooms beyond, these letters have to be crossed in the right sequence, spelling the name of the god AMAUNATOR, otherwise the crossing character is struck by a Flame Strike. This is a reference to the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where a similar trap guards the resting place of the Holy Grail. "Jabberwocky" *Montaron's line "I warrant your attention?! Oh frabjous day, callooh callay!" is a reference to Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem "Jabberwocky". Leonardo da Vinci *In the Hall of Wonders, a vehicle described as 'Gondsman Leonardo's Helical Aerial Wonder' is displayed near the front entrance, closely resembling Leonardo da Vinci's design for an ornithopter. "Little Red Riding Hood" *Cespenar asks, when presented with the Thieves' Hood, "A hood? You off to visits grandmother or what?"BOTSMITH.dlg; State 135 – Cespenar: "I... hey, what is this? A hood? You off to visits grandmother or what?", referring to Little Red Riding Hood who is on the way to her grandmother. Michael Jackson *Cespenar asks, when presented with the Bard's Gloves, "Here's a glove. Only one? What is you, a rock star?"BOTSMITH.dlg; State 123 – Cespenar: "Hmm... hmm... Oh, wait! Here's a glove. Only one? What is you, a rock star? Oh. Here's the other one...", referring to Michael Jackson's trademark of wearing a single glove. ''Newhart'' *Larry, Darryl, and Darryl – a kobold, a xvart and a tasloi – can be met in the Fire Leaf Forest. They are an homage to characters of the same name, the 'Do Anything for a Buck' trio from the 1982–1990 sitcom Newhart.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yyB06HvAjI&t=103 Clip from second episode of Newhart] ''Of Mice and Men'' *Xzar's line "Ahh, tell me 'bout the rabbits." is a reference to a mentally disabled man named Lenny from John Steinbeck's 1937 play Of Mice and Men, whose dream it was to start a rabbit farm. Porky Pig *Khalid's line "Th-th-th-that's all, f-folks!" is the catchphrase of the Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes character Porky Pig. ''Predator'' * Shar-Teel's line "If it bleeds, I can kill it." is almost identical to a line from the film Predator, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger's character utters similar words. Spider-Man *In the Black Pits, the 'Tier 2' battle Unfriendly Neighborhood Spider Man is a clear reference to the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. ''Star Trek'' *In The Black Pits, the 'Tier 2' battle Red Shirt Wizards is a reference to the infamous 'redshirts' from Star Trek: The Original Series: crew members who frequently die on missions, to emphasize the danger posed to the main characters. *The Chesley Crusher is a reference to the character Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. *Elan Garaq is a reference to Elim Garak from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as they are both tailors and have very similar names. ''Star Wars'' *The wild mage Adoy is a reference to Yoda from the Star Wars franchise. Both are old, wise and powerful individuals, and both are depicted as living in caves (though Adoy is actually being held captive there). Of course it's also "Yoda" spelled backwards. ''The Blair Witch Project'' *When visiting Imnesvale to Investigate the Deaths in the Umar Hills, Vincenzo, the Innkeep of the village, has tales to tell about Umar the Witch who once took people into the hills to torture and mutilate them. If inquiring, he mentions a group of three mage apprentices who were looking after the witch some years ago and never were found again. He then might hand out the woman's journal which reveals the names of the two male mages, Joshellus and Michaelus. The story about the witch is a reference to the 1999 supernatural horror film The Blair Witch Project, as are the apprentices – the students Josh and Mike in the movie – and finally the women's reaction in the journal. ''The Elder Scrolls'' *In the biography of Zelnick, a member of the pre-generated party for The Black Pits, it's mentioned that he once had a memorable encounter with "a particularly lusty Argonian maid," referring to The Lusty Argonian Maid, a series of books in The Elder Scrolls. ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' *Alora's line "I don't think you're happy enough! I'll teach you to be happy!" and the one immediately following it, "Happy happy joy joy, happy happy joy joy!", are references to the "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" song from The Ren & Stimpy Show. ''The Silence of the Lambs'' *Xzar's line "I ate his liver with a nice Chianti and some fava beans." is a reference to the famous quote "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti," spoken by Hannibal Lecter in the film The Silence of the Lambs. Lecter's quote is ranked twenty-one on "100 Movie Quotes" from the American Film Institute's 100 Years series. ''The Simpsons'' *Quayle's line "I am so smart! S M R T! I—I mean S M A R T!" is nearly identical to what The Simpsons character Homer Simpson sings after setting fire to his high school diploma. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" *Larz, one of three apprentices of Gorion's Ward as a wizard and owner of the Mage Stronghold, can be heard saying "I shall make the broom dance,"MGAPPR03.dlg; State 32 – Larz: "Wow. this sure is... exciting. Next, I shall make the broom dance. Be still, my heart." a reference to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in which the protagonist enchants a broom to do the work for him. ''The Walking Dead'' *The undead, raised by Kryll during Dorn Il-Khan's quest, are references to characters from The Walking Dead: Glenn, Lori, Rick and Shane. ''The Wizard of Oz'' *Quayle's line "I wile away the hours, conferring with the flowers, consulting with the rain." is a reference to the song "If I Only Had a Brain" from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" *Dynaheir's line "These boots were made for walking, and that's just what they'll do." is a reference to the song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", sung by Nancy Sinatra. Wolverine *Bub Snikt is a reference to the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. "Snikt" refers to the 'sound' that's shown in the comics to accompany the popping out of his claws, and "Bub" is a nickname, Wolverine gives just about everyone he meets. Like Wolverine, Bub Snikt also appears to have a heightened sense of smell. And lastly, he makes a similar comment when replying to "You seem pretty good at what you do." with "You could say that. Ain't pretty though," whereas Wolverine's catchphrase is "I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn't very nice…" References Category:Image needed Category:Articles with redlinks Category:Lists